Over halfway there already!  Thursday, February 27 marked the 32^nd day of the Legislative Session.  The Senators, Committees, and the Speaker have each designated priority bills.  Committees have held final meetings.  The Legislative Body begins full day floor debate on Tuesday, March 3.  We are all working hard to review the bills that our colleagues have identified and I anticipate an even quicker pace as we move forward.

VISITORS.  We had more visitors from Wayne and South Sioux City this past week.  It is great to have visitors from District 17 welcomed to the Legislative Chamber by the Lieutenant Governor or presiding Senator.  Be sure to make the Legislature one of your stops if visiting Lincoln.

BILLS TO WATCH.  LB974 (Property Tax Relief) and LB720 (Business Incentives for economic development) remain in the forefront of our minds this Session.  Several Senators are working hard to garner the support needed to bring property tax relief over the finish line and to invite continued economic growth to our State.  Although we are not there yet, I believe progress is being made and feel confident the Legislature will get property tax relief accomplished before the end of this Session.  It is what Nebraskans want, it is what Nebraska need, and we are working hard to make it happen.

LR288:  With last year’s flooding, following several severe flooding events over the past several years in mind, Senator Julie Slama introduced a Legislative Resolution (LR) urging Congress and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) to make flood control a top priority for management of water systems under their authority in the Missouri River Mainstream Reservoir System Manual.  The preliminary assessment of damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges, and levees caused by the 2019 flooding has reached approximately $450,000,000.  The Corps has authority over many of the systems in Nebraska as well as management of water flows in the Missouri River Basin using an infrastructure network.  Current standards put in place by the Corps for levee design, construction, and maintenance have not been updated in over twenty years.  Therefore, through LR288, the Legislature states that the Corps should consider the impact of flooding on people, agricultural land, property and economies and prioritize flood control when creating future Water Systems Manuals and when updating levee standards to best serve the needs of Nebraska residents living within the affected areas.  It was a natural for me to join Senator Slama as a co-sponsor of LR288 when it was introduced and I am pleased to report that the Resolution was adopted by the Legislature on a 43-1 vote.

In addition to everything else, I am preparing for the time when my Priority LB1186 comes to the floor for debate.  As a reminder, LB1186 fills in a pay gap for teachers and staff who are injured by an assault while on the job.  Currently, teachers who are assaulted and are unable to work due to injuries from that assault are not paid injury leave to compensate them during the first seven days that is not covered by workers’ compensation when those benefits kick in.  LB1186 requires that teachers or school employees injured by such intentional assaults be paid their usual salary for those seven days without having to sacrifice accumulated sick leave or vacation time.  Our teachers serve our children and it is important to me that we in turn serve them.  If they are injured by assault while doing their job, our schools should make sure they are not penalized financially by the school where they serve. .

As always, it is of great importance that I hear from my constituents to effectively do my job as your voice in the Legislature. I encourage you to contact me and I look forward to hearing from you. You can reach me by phone at 402-471-2716 or by email at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov